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cirilla-fiona-riannon · 1 year

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Kicho's Main Story Ch. 11 Part 2 Dramatic

These translations are not intended as a replacement for the game. Please support cybird by buying their stories. SPOILERS under the cut. Expect mistakes.

Thanks to Ranmaru’s directions, we arrived safely at the camp.

Despite being surrounded by soldiers, Nobunaga consented to a meeting to discuss the situation.

Nobunaga: “Is everyone here?”

Kicho & Kennyo: “...........”

Mitsuhide & Ranmaru: “..........”

Masamune & Ieyasu: “..........”

(The air is so heavy that I feel like I’m suffocating.)

(But the fact that we had a chance to talk like this is truly a miracle.)

Seven people were gathered in the tent.

Hideyoshi, Mitsunari, and Keiji were staying behind in Azuchi.

As I looked around to see how everyone was doing, my gaze collided with Ieyasu, who happened to be looking at me.

Ieyasu: “What?”

Mai: “Um, long time no see. How have you been?”

Ieyasu: “You should be worrying about yourself, not me.”

Ieyasu: “Do you realize that you’re now a hostage?”

Mai: “Right.”

Masamune: “Well, you did well for a first-time spy. You made it back alive.”

Masamune: “So, what is it that you want to talk about by taking her hostage?”

Masamune: “You’re not suggesting you’re gonna lend us a hand now, are you?”

Kicho: “That’s right.”

Ieyasu: “Ha?”

Ieyasu: “What’s the traitor suddenly saying? If you're joking, it's not funny.”

Kicho: "I'm not joking."

Kicho: "I'm here to help you end this rebellion."

Kicho: "Taking Mai hostage was just to create this situation."

Nobunaga: "Oh? You too, Kennyo?"

Kennyo: "Yes. Unprecedented rebellions are spreading across the country, so if we don't stop this, Japan will turn into a land of chaos.”

Kennyo: "But I'm not going to become one of you. This is just a one-time thing."

Kicho: "We're going to need more men to deal with this."

Kicho: "I came here to bring about a more certain outcome."

Masamune: "Wait. You're the one who brought this on in the first place."

Masamune: "Are you going to destroy your work just like that?"

Kicho: "That's right. I have to fix it because I caused it myself."

Ieyasu: "Heh. You suddenly had a change of heart."

Ieyasu coldly stared at Kicho.

(If your enemy suddenly starts talking like that, anyone would be suspicious.)

(But I want them to know it's not a lie.)

As I frustratingly watched, Mitsuhide broke the tense atmosphere.

Mitsuhide: "Lord Nobunaga. I have a suggestion."

Nobunaga: "What is it?"

Mitsuhide: "Why don't we first let her report about the infiltration?”

(Me!?)

Ranmaru: "I agree. Lady Mai knows best what really went on here."

Ranmaru: "It's not yet too late to decide whether these people meant what they said after hearing her out."

Nobunaga: "Oh?"

Nobunaga: "Then Mai. You speak."

Mai: “Okay.”

(It's a big responsibility. But I gotta get my act together.)

Mai: "Just as Mitsuhide had told you, I didn't get much information."

Mai: "That's why, for now, I'll tell you what I saw and felt."

I took a deep breath, and in that instant, many things came flooding back into my mind.

Facing this era for the first time, having trouble, and thinking about questions with no answers, I finally arrived at...

Mai: "I'd like you to trust these people."

Mai: "I can say that because I voluntarily became a hostage."

Ieyasu & Masamune: "----!"

Mai: "And I want both Kicho and Kennyo to believe in you guys, too, just for this moment."

Mai: "I know that none of you here are enemies."

Mai: "If crossing paths makes us enemies, then sharing the same goal at least makes us allies, right?"

Kicho & Kennyo: "..........."

Nobunaga: "We’re not enemies, huh? Is that your conclusion?"

Mai: "Yes."

Nobunaga: "All right. Then the three armies will now make a temporary agreement."

Nobunaga: "A truce and a joint effort to quell this rebellion."

At Nobunaga's words, the tent became as silent as the night, all eyes blazing like the sky burning in the morning sun, nodding as they looked at the single path that had appeared.

(With this...!)

Nobunaga: "It's almost dawn. Let's move on to the war council immediately."

(Hmm. I hope they received it.)

Fidgeting, I walked around near the tent.

Before the military meeting began, Kicho entrusted the Oda soldiers with the whereabouts of his men and a message for them.

(The enemy's strength decreases as our strength increases.)

(I hope they can somehow make it in time.)

Mai: "Ah!"

In the distance, some small black shadows appeared.

(Thank God. They're here!)

Kicho's subordinate 1: "Lady Mai! You're safe."

Mai: "Yes. Kicho is now in the tent at the military meeting."

Kicho's subordinate 2: "See, I told you. I knew it was from Lord Kicho."

Kicho's subordinate 1: "Well..."

Kicho's subordinate 3: "It's only natural to be suspicious when someone from the Oda army suddenly gives us a letter."

Kicho's subordinate 2: "But those are special characters, taught only to us in case of emergency."

Mai: "Special characters?"

Kicho's subordinate 2: "It's understandable that you don't know since you just came recently. Here."

Mai: "Are you sure? Thank you."

(I'm so proud of Kicho for preparing that kind of thing in case of an emergency.)

(I'm sure I won't be able to read it, but let's look at it just in case.)

I gently unfolded the small piece of paper and一

Mai: "T-This...!"

Kicho's subordinate 1: "Can you read it?"

Mai: "Y-Yes. Somehow."

(It's Gyaru-moji.)

[Gyaru-moji is a style of obfuscated Japanese writing popular amongst urban Japanese youth. As the name gyaru-moji suggests (gyaru meaning "gal"), this writing system was created by and remained primarily employed by young women. Like the English phenomenon of the SMS language, it's most often used for sending text messages.]

(So he learned this stuff in the future!?)

I try imagining it, but I can't picture Kicho using it.

(Oh, but it might be the best cipher for a large number of people because you don't have to learn a new language from its grammar. And the people of this era would never understand it.)

Kicho's subordinate 2: "How? Did you learn some of it?"

Kicho's subordinate 3: "Come to think of it, aren't you learning about something before?"

Kicho's subordinate 2: "Oh, right."

Mai: "Yes."

(It's actually kuzushi-ji, but that’s not important now.)

I folded the letter back, then the tent's entrance swung open.

Kicho: “You’re here.”

Subordinate 1: “Lord Kicho!”

Kicho: “Where are the others?”

Subordinate 3: “They’re already on their way to their respective destinations.”

Subordinate 3: “I think we can get more than half of them by dawn.”

Kicho: “I see. Even if some couldn’t come, it doesn’t matter as long as we conveyed our intention.”

Subordinate 2: “Yes, sir.”

Mai: “Um, Kicho. What happened to the war council?”

Kicho: “We’ve reached a consensus.”

Kicho: “We’ll gather the generals of each platoon and further discuss the plan.”

Subordinate 2: “Is this the joint operation with Nobunaga and Kennyo you mentioned in the letter?”

Kicho: “Yes.”

As soon as he nodded, his subordinates’ expressions became tense.

Subordinate 2: “But why all of a sudden?”

Kicho: “It’s a result of facing myself. Everyone makes mistakes, and I was one of them.”

Kicho: “That’s why I think you should have the opportunity to correct your ways.”

Subordinate 2: “Huh?”

Kicho: “This is a war-torn world, and anyone who gets in the way must be dealt with, but for this moment, I’ll let you choose.”

Kicho: “Where would you go? Are you going to leave and return to your hometown? You can do whatever you want.”

His men: "-----!"

(Kicho...)

In the silence, their shadows cast by the moonlight swayed with confusion, but they never left.

Subordinate 1: "Of course, I'll follow you."

Subordinate 1: "I came here hoping for the world you want."

Subordinate 2: "Me too. The Japan you are looking at is the world we seek."

Subordinate 3: "Likewise. I have no objection."

All the subordinates vigorously nodded as they spoke.

Kicho: "I understand."

Kicho: "Then, first of all, let me explain our plan. Our team is in the tent over there."

Kicho’s men: "Understood."

(Thank God they didn't fall apart or anything.)

Looking at everyone's back, I patted my chest in relief, but my stomach suddenly grumbled.

Kicho: "Hmm?"

Mai: “S-Sorry!”

(I can't believe I'm feeling hungry when we're just getting started!)

Embarrassed, I shuffled out of Kicho's gaze and heard him chuckling.

Kicho: "Pfft."

Kicho: "Come to think of it, you haven't eaten or even had water."

Kicho: "Why don't you grab something to eat and take a break."

Mai: "Eh, but..."

Kicho: "Don't worry about us. Then, see you later."

He patted my head and walked away.

(Even if he tells me not to worry, I do because I care about them.)

(Oh, right!)

Mai: "Excuse me for interrupting."

Holding large trays, I peeked inside the open tent, and everyone turned to look at me.

(Mitsuhide is here too.)

(I guess that means they're working on the same plan.)

Kicho: "Is something wrong?"

Mai: "Yes, I made you guys some food, if you don't mind."

Mai: "It's just a simple miso soup, though."

Mitsuhide: "Oh? This is something of a treat in this situation."

Kicho: "Yeah, let's eat."

Kicho’s men: "Yes, sir."

As Kicho and Mitsuhide urged them, everyone's faces grew calm as they looked and fetched the still-steaming bowls.

(It's times like this that food is important.)

(Besides, there is a saying that we should eat from the same pot.)

Kicho: "Mai. Sorry for the trouble, even though I told you to take a break."

Mai: "It's fine. I hate sitting still. Also, you guys really need this since you're moving around."

Kicho: "I see. Then, let's eat."

Mitsuhide: "It's been a while since I've eaten a hot meal on the battlefield."

Mai: "Don't they make soup in places like this?"

Kicho: "No, it's not like that. This guy just doesn't care about food. He'll eat anything as long as it fits in his stomach."

Kicho: "Other soldiers cook meals like this."

Mai: "I see. You know a lot."

Mitsuhide: "He was originally from the Oda army."

Mai: "Right. It's been a few years, yet you're getting along pretty well."

Kicho: "You think so?"

Mai: "Yes. You two are similar in some ways."

Mai: "Not necessarily in terms of appearance, but, for example, in terms of being a spartan."

Mitsuhide: "Spartan?"

Kicho: "It's a term that refers to harsh and strict teaching."

Kicho: "I see. I made you do something harsh, huh?"

Mitsuhide: "Weird. I don't also remember doing something like that."

Mai: "You're unaware of it!?"

(Maybe I was just being naive.)

(I guess it's normal in this era, or maybe calling them spartan was rude, especially since they did it out of good intentions.)

Mai: "Um, I take it back. You two are..."

Mitsuhide: "Mai."

Mai: ".........."

Mitsuhide suddenly moved closer to me and smiled like a fox.

Mitsuhide: "Let me ask for future reference."

Mitsuhide: "What other aspects of me do you feel are similar to Kicho's?"

Mai: "Um..."

I compared their faces, moving my eyes frantically.

(Oh!)

Mai: "You both take good care of me and are kind."

Kicho: "What?"

Mitsuhide: "Are you sure you're not talking about Hideyoshi or Mitsunari?"

Mai: "Nope, those two certainly are like that, but in a slightly different way."

Mai: "I was going to retract my earlier comment about you guys being spartan because you guys weren't just being strict. You were also being considerate."

(Thanks to that, I was able to do more.)

Mai: "So, thank you for sticking with me till the end."

Kicho: "I never thought you'd thank me."

Kicho: "For me, I think it was your own effort that made it possible."

Mai: "But nothing starts without a good teacher."

Mitsuhide: "Oh? You were a pretty good student yourself."

Mitsuhide: "You almost get knocked off by a spirited horse, and you eagerly admire the scenery that you can't hear a thing."

Mai: "That doesn't sound like a compliment."

Mitsuhide: "What are you saying? It's my highest compliment."

Mitsuhide: "The more of a handful a kid is, the cuter they are."

Mai: "-----!"

Mitsuhide chuckled and patted my head with his other hand.

Mai: "Um..."

Kicho: "Wait."

Mai: "Whoa!"

Kicho intervened and swatted Mitsuhide's hand away.

Kicho: "That's enough. I'm telling you, Mai and I are already lovers."

Kicho: "Even if we have some similarities, we're still different people."

Kicho: "More importantly, I don't have the same taste as you to mess with other people's stuff."

Mitsuhide: "That's outrageous. I was just praising my beloved student."

Kicho: "I didn't see it that way. That's why I stopped you."

Mitsuhide: "I see."

Mai: "W-Wait! Let's get along, okay?"

(They were just getting along fine earlier, but now they're suddenly arguing.)

Kicho: "Don't worry. I'm just removing the pest before it gets on you."

Mai: "Pest? It's just a misunderstanding."

Mai: "Mitsuhide intentionally says things with these kinds of implications."

Realizing what Kicho was about to say, I hurriedly shook my head and looked at Mitsuhide to ask for his agreement.

Mai: "Right?"

Mitsuhide: "Well, I don't know. I'll let you be the judge of my true feelings."

Mai: "See, I told you."

Kicho: "..........."

Kicho sighed and turned to me.

Kicho: "Fine. If you say so, then here's what we'll do."

Something to keep in mind.

You're too optimistic in some areas, but I now see that as your strength.

Therefore, you don't have to fix it. However, you should still handle it reasonably.

You don't have to think too hard. I will be there for you from now on.

If there's a bug or pest (guy) lingering around you, I'll get rid of it.

I'll get rid of it asap, but some pest approach cleverly, so be on your guard.

At any rate, you can be who you are. Leave everything to me, and remember, I'm fascinated by you.

I'm grateful for the feelings you've given me. I love you.

-- Kicho

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#ikemen sengoku #ikesen kicho #ikesen kichou #ikesen jp #ikesen #ikesen spoilers #ikesen ieyasu #ikesen mitsuhide #ikesen translations #cybird

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eien-no-gakusha · 1 year

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Touken Ranbu: The Contradictory Tale of Genji

Part 2/3 - Cast:

(I’m going by romanization in the program, which might differ from their Takarazuka days)

Here is the list of actors and their program introduction. There’s more to the Genji Monogatari cast that will be elaborated on in the spoiler section.

OG = Takarazuka OG, specifically otokoyaku TR = Touken Ranbu character GM = Tale of Genji character

Holy Takarazuka OG Batman!! What a star-studded cast! For me at least. I was drooling over this casting. All the named male roles were performed by otokoyaku retired from Takarazuka. It’s good to see the craft continue outside the big revue companies. This is in no small part thanks to Nanami Hiroki who actively continued otokoyaku work outside Takarazuka. There are the likes of Amami Yuuki and Sagiri Sena who have performed genderbent roles in their OG career on occasion. However, that was an exception in a true to gender cast. This is the first big production I’ve seen with all female casting outside Takarazuka. It worked incredibly well since the actors involved specialize in stuff like that. Also, with Takarazuka otokoyaku garnering a reputation of portraying idealized men, it made sense that they would portray fictionally idealized men about a novel lead by the perfect romantic hero. Overall, very impressed by the acting talent. I did enter the lottery three times to see this cast live lol.

Of the OGs on stage, I’m most familiar with Nanami Hiroki, Ayanagi Sho, and Seto Kazuya. They happen to play the major characters. The lead role is Nanami Hiroki as Kasen Kanesada closely followed by Ayanagi Sho as Okurika. These two swords are basically foils of each other. Kasen Kanesada is the cultured sword named after the Thirty-six Immortals of Poetry (or the 36 retainers his master killed, depending on your interpretation). He’s the level-headed leader and refined poetry master, making him ideal for being trapped in a literary work. Okurikara is the brash brawler sword. He belonged to the son of Date Masamune and if son resembles father at all, that explains the thirst for battle. Also, a lot of his design refers to a fierce Buddhist deity who removes obstacles so makes sense he tries to brute force his way out of a problem. As these two were possessed by Genji, they had the heaviest roles having to play two characters with one having to match Seto Kazuya’s acting. Both Kai and Ayaka did great and captured their respective characters. I barely recognized Sho and it wasn’t just the brown-face, she did something a bit different with her makeup. Akira is perfect for Genji. She is a versatile actor who can handle both drama and comedy. Here she wholeheartedly embodies the tragic hero and bitter villain (book protagonist but show antagonist, an interesting twist). She did such a good job I didn’t even recognize her as the nameless creeper fan until I checked the program. She played dweeby, shy nerd for that brief scene so convincingly, I thought it was a different actor.

The rest of the touken danshi serve as fanservice and comic relief. It’s a bunch of OGs playing Ichimonji swords, mostly relatively new collectables in the game. All anyone needs to know are the silver color characters are Uesugi swords who are there to be the cool, silent types. The blond boys have a bit more lines. Aya Oka as Ichimonji Norimune, expensive old man sword, will act suave and pretty in between scenes. Nansen Ichimonji by Shiotsuki Syu is the comic relief. Legend is the sword split a cat in two and was then cursed by the dead cat, hence all the cat mannerisms and frustrated meowing. So Fuku here has to act the cat and also act the young, explosive lad. She does the most audience-insert snarky commentary and slapstick of the side characters. She wasn’t too distracting or detracted from the story. In fact, she was genuinely funny and earned a lot of intentional chuckles and laughs from the crowd.

The musumeyaku, as we will call them here, I am not as familiar with as they are mostly idols and actresses from the part of Japanese pop culture I do not follow as closely. Everyone did a good job and were absolutely beautiful in their juunihito kimono. Now this is a Touken Ranbu show so naturally the Tale of Genji cast are secondary characters. However, each of the Genji cast was tasked with a double role that was important in carrying the theme. Including Akira, they each played a “real” person from the Heian era and a book character.

Half of the musumeyaku cast are basically random court ladies that, as a group, represent friends and fans of Murasaki Shikibu. However, they have more to do in the Tale of Genji isekai as Aoi no Ue, Utsusemi, and Suetsumuhana. What is important to note is their brief lines in the book club flashback when they discuss their favorite characters with the Empress. The discussion extends to the solace and inspiration they find from the text. Ironically, they all turn into their favorite characters when sucked into the book so perhaps that is why they so easily went with the flow. Aoi no Ue’s realworld counterpart is presumably going through a rocky marriage or having trouble conceiving so sympathizes with the character. Utsusemi finds inspiration in her character’s strong sense of morality and self-respect. Suetsumuhana is actually a bimbo enjoying the story? Well, she is basically comic relief on the girl’s side. In the book, she’s known for that little red nose and the fact that she’s broke and dull because her family fell on hard times so lacks an education. She even gets a clown mask with a giant nose to represent her morning-after cold for a bit of levity.

The other ladies carry are more relevant to the theme. We learn in Act 2 that Lady Rokujo (Genji’s MILF poetry teacher turned mistress), is actually the Empress in real life. She is having marital and thus political troubles with the Emperor and feels trapped so gravitates towards Lady Rokujo for catharsis. After all, Lady Rokujo of book fame goes wild and outright haunts her enemies by sheer will. In reverse, we have Lady Koshosho, Murasaki’s best friend and a humble court lady, reincarnate as the villain empress in the book. At the center of it all, we learn that the author Murasaki Shikibu has taken the role as unobtainable true love Consort Fujitsubo. These three women are more prominent in the real world timeline. The Empress voicing one opinion about fiction as head of book club, Lady Koshosho being avid book promoter and introductory character who links scenes, and Murasaki being the godly author of the book. Minamoto Maho as both Murasaki Shikibu and Consort Fujitsubo is fitting as the lofty author is as grand a figure in her fictional universe as the idolized woman Fujitsubo. Genji has a complicated love-hate relationship with her that blurs the line between character and creator. Not much to say about her as Fujitsubo since she just has to stand there and be pretty while Genji angsts in the foreground. However, she really shines as the author. Murasaki Shikibu within the play raises some interesting points regarding storytelling and fiction as we observe her life and the people impacted by her story and finding a place in history. A lot of Japanese portrayal of women, even with women protagonists, write them rather passively. In the case of this show, we see internal conflict and agency from Murasaki as she strives to finish her novel against criticism and backlash. Also, I would be remiss to not discuss young Murasaki, played by a set of child actresses. The one in my showing was very professional in her line delivery and performed well. Of course, she was super cute.

Even extras were noteworthy people with previous works in major franchises, some were household names by Japanese standards. We had voice actor from a Final Fantasy mobile game, guy in BLEACH musical, and boy band member.

Overall, all the actors brought their talent to the table so I have no complaints!

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carcharsaur · 1 year

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finally finished something else to put in my got damn tag, let’s go gamers

norn9: var commons an interesting game, charming and understandably a classic from the vita era, but over-ambitious and kind of unfocused and bloated, with a few rough spots

without spoilers, I legit think my perception of this game got really skewed at the beginning based on the play order I did... I would not recommend kakeru first HAHA

I think best off for overall plot elements would be something like: Senri -> Heishi -> Sakuya or Itsuki -> Masamune -> Kakeru -> Akito -> Ron -> Natsuhiko -> epilogue but the only one that is super super required is natsuhiko last, I think. I definitely think them putting kakeru on “recommended” was a MISTAKEEE it left me so dazed about stuff playing it first

part of the game’s problems is just that right there... too many damn routes! a lot of them had endings that felt really unfinished, and there’s a fandisc being localized later this year for the first time but! ideally a game should stand on it’s own merits rather than needing a sequel to feel properly resolved v_v that said, I am rather excited for the FD regardless because I’m invested now lol

on a positive note, I loved all 3 heroines! they’re all characterized distinctly and thoroughly, helped by them all being voiced which I love love love to see in this genre. it helps their characterization a ton, and makes me so much more attached to them. they interact frequently, and have each other’s backs in the stressful situations they find themselves in, rather than squabble over things which was really good. I struggle to pick a favorite from the 3, they all have different charms points and mild frustrations for me. mikoto got the most tears from me overall, I adored koharu and her well-executed (imo) neurodivergent vibes, and I could relate too well to nanami’s emotional wall she builds around herself and her, well, PTSD? T_T haah

my fav pairings for each were: Koharu and Senri, Nanami and Heishi, then Mikoto and Natsuhiko!

-getting into spoilers now-

I also really loved this game’s setting/world lore! it was really interesting, but at the same time it almost feels like the premise of all this would’ve been better served with something that’s not a romance game. it feels like the background and over-arching issues should have had more time and development rather than being brushed over in the course of 10mins in most routes... I know it’s heretical to say for otome games but that’s how it had me feeling. by the time you get to the epilogue it makes thematic sense that the love is an important part but it really, really, does not set that up and build on it well before then so I was left kind of wishy-washy on the game in the middle. I dislike comparing games like this; but the scenario director’s later work, Even If Tempest, handled the romance being integral to the overarching plot much better. though that also was a linear single-perspective story rather than 3 POVS with 3 routes each. orz

getting into more critical things now, the age stuff was a little weird and I just. ignored it most of the time but if that’s something that’s uncomfortable for you (16-17 yr old MCs getting with 20+ yr old guys =_=;) then yeah I strongly do not recommend. they don’t mention it too much but when they do it’s just. man was this necessary. man why did you make nanami 16 when she acts more maturely than the other 2 girls... though that might be the PTSD more than anything AGH. speaking of, I disliked that all of nanami’s routes either have the potential to, or just do straight-up mistreat her... not much to be said about it other than it sucks! it’s not unrealistic but well, forgive me for wanting my romance games to be a bit more idealistic unless they’re going for full tragedy/thriller/etc.

also I think 2 of the routes could’ve been straight-up dropped and had almost no impact on the overall game. ron’s just had... virtually no insight into him other than how awful he is which is like. a matter of taste I guess but god it was more boring than it was shocking or appalling. mundane in his slimy-ness? just magically fix your horrible mans by erasing all the memories that make him who he is. and when he wakes up, he’s somehow the same dude but without all the sadism? wateverrr -_-

and then masamune, I really really like him as a side/support character, and in a bubble I like his character too, and I LOOOOVE his voice actor but man. his dynamic with koharu was uncomfortable. not outright bad but just not a good vibe even if she was never uncomfortable with him it doesn’t sit right. and despite being one of the more ‘important’ characters to the overarching story his route had very little about that stuff in it.. ended up feeling pretty lacking. extremely ironic considering his whole power is being able to see the past of people (and objects?) he touches with his right hand (WHICH ONLY GETS USED ONCE?????). I ended up liking his bad end MORE than his normal end because it focused more on koharu’s relationship with mikoto in a way I liked, even though it was still a tragic circumstance.

they’re just good friends : )

my other least favorite route, which I admit at least has important plot and character and background information, is sakuya’s. I was enjoying it somewhat until he straight up ASSAULTS mikoto in a way that was too visceral and realistic for me, immediately made me want to dumpster him and the lack of real consequence or even anger from the MC in response made him irredeemable to me and I was sick of him by the end. even as a side character he chafed me rather than his overprotective comments being funny or... anything else. common yandere L

on the other hand, I think my fav character overall is heishi. his bad end is a little... huhhh... but I try not to judge too hard on those because most feel like insane non-sequitur anyway.. it felt ooc for him even with his emotional instability. I did enjoy that it was longer than basically every other bad end, though. most are throwaways but his felt like there was some real effort behind it, at least in regards to the decisions nanami brings herself to

but anyway, I could understand people not loving his route or being frustrated with the route it takes with his genki-seeming character. but I find his struggle to control and suppress his negative emotions out of legitimate concern for those around him relatable and compelling! regardless though, when he’s a supporting character he’s MVP for me, no doubt. I didn’t expect him to grow on me so much!

alright after all that I think I’ve run out of steam and thoughts for now...

other than, the epilogue being about robot love was cute! love giving even robots the power to make their way through life: really cute! but the shit about rebirth and exact dna.... man nah. good and bad I guess. I had a mostly good time though

masamune go bald in 5 years

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#car's 2023 media #car talking #WARNING: LONG ASS POST I NEVER STFU #also small thing is that there was still some weirdness and errors in the translation here or there #that kiiinda took me out of it once or twice but. nothing nearly as bad as what I've seen of the vita release LOL

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krys-loves-otome · 2 years

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Masamune Act 2 Plot Summary

Hey friends, good to see y'all again.

So, over on twitter, a friend (@snow-and-saltea) was wanting to get back into IkeSen after some time away and I had just finished giving some thoughts on the routes that I have been playing and they were curious about Masa's second act since I had gushed about it so much. So, I decided to gather my thoughts about it to give a plot summary for them. Took a day and wrote it up, saw that I had basically gushed for about 2100 words, and thought it was going to be a nightmare to repost to twitter, so I sent them a google doc of it instead.

Then, got to thinking about it and decided that I could put this on tumblr as well. Kind of like a call back to when I used to do an essay series reviewing various routes of whatever otome I was playing.

This essay will cover the basics of Masamune's Act 2, with some references to his Romantic route end and his Eternal End. Since it is a plot summary, there are going to be spoilers for a good portion of the route. I don't cover every single detail that went on in the route, I'm just covering some basic stuff along with some analysis. Should also say that as of this writing, I haven't done his Tragic End yet, so that will not be included in this summary. Maybe another time when I'm feeling braver about it.

Anyway, onto the summary!

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Masa's Act 2, like what I'm assuming the rest of the Act 2s are gonna be like, follows the events following their Eternal End.

For Masa's Eternal End in particular, his is focused more on exploring his want to be seen as strong all the time and why he has a hard time showing and or talking about his weakness and insecurities. It's kind of touched upon in his Romantic ending too when he would say super sweet things to MC when he thought she was fully asleep. Not that he wouldn't say romantic and sweet things to her when she was awake, he just didn't want her seeing him in an uncool state if he said the super-super sweet things.

With his Eternal End, there was a look into his past via MC talking to his old mentor and to his top vassal and confidant Kojuro. They tell the story of a quiet, sickly little boy that Masa was before Kojuro cut his eye out, about how he hated how weak and powerless he felt, his not-so-great relationship with his family, plus the trauma brought on from having to kill his dad. Basically, Masa bottles up a lot of negativity about himself which isn't a good thing to do, but Eternal End seemed to hint he's slowly opening up to the idea that sharing that shameful side of himself to MC isn't such a bad thing, that she doesn't care about his flaws, she loves him for all of his parts.

Act 2, well, it really brings his 'shameful side' out in full view and puts it to the test. How much can Masa handle before his 'cool' persona starts to fall away?

MC and Masa are returning to Azuchi after they hear about it being attacked, only for her to see that her Traveler's Guide is now blank. Not only that, but MC is starting to experience some memory loss, in particular about things she used to know from the future. The first instance is her forgetting how to make ruffles, which is troubling because she loves all things sewing, so for her to forget something like that makes both of them feel ill at ease. Not that Masa let's her see that, she's scared so he does his best to soothe her, wifey’s needs come first. Can’t have her being scared, it’s a ‘not good’ in Masa’s book. Once she's asleep (a la his romantic route’s ending), he expresses his worries to her and how he's gonna find some way to restore her memories back to her.

But the trouble doesn't end there. Both him and Ieyasu receive word from their respective provinces that they were being attacked, so they couldn't stay and help Nobu with the growing threat of Motonari and Kicho. Yasu takes off to Mikawa while Masa goes back to Oshu with MC in tow. From there, her amnesia gets progressively worse as she forgets more things about the future. She can't remember her family, when or where she was born, what certain things are called, and it starts to freak her out. Masa tries his best to help her remember things she's told him about the future, like about different kinds of foods or about cars and roller coasters, but her memory is still deteriorating.

Then, we're given one painful reminder from his main route after another. Masa had taken her on a scouting mission but they were ambushed. She tries her best to stay hidden but a lit gun rolls her way. She might have forgotten about all her future sewing knowledge, but she still remembers how to use a gun from Mitsuhide's teachings in the main route. She sees Masa about to get hit, calls to him to get down, and fires the gun. She misses and hits a tree, but still, she fired the gun at a person!

Because of an incident in his Main route, Masa got hurt because of her inability to fire on a guy that would have most certainly killed her if Masa hadn't come along. And there was a big to-do about when he stopped her from firing on Kenshin, that she didn't have to destroy herself and her beliefs to save him by killing someone. That she should leave the reckless dangerous stuff to him and how much he would hate himself if she lost her smile by having to destroy her beliefs.

Because of these previous incidents, we know that MC is against hurting another, no matter the cost to herself. But, because of this memory loss, MC did something that was against her moral code (attempting to kill someone to save Masa) and it disturbed both of them. She's shaken when she realizes what she had almost done, and, once again, Masa tries his best to comfort her, but if this memory loss thing didn't bother him before, it was definitely bothering him now.

Following that incident, MC loses her ability to make expressions. She can't smile or cry, her face now like that of a doll. Masa tries to make the best of it by having her do expressive gestures instead, like her hands on her face for surprise, or to give him hugs when she wants to say she loves him.

MC also notices that her body is slower to respond, like not being able to move her hand a certain way. As you'd expect, this comes back to bite them both in the ass.

Now, Kenshin comes after him for some reason (his reasoning is not really explained well, I'm just assuming that the plot needed for him to come do something, so Kenshin's here to cause chaos) but Kicho interferes with their fight, raining arrows on Masa's tropes. Masa tries to pull MC up with him so they can get away, but her body refuses to move, thanks to her new symptom of temporary paralysis, first hinted at before when she lost her ability to express emotions on her face. Masa gets hit by a poison arrow when MC suddenly can move again. They have to get away before the poison takes hold. So, they jump onto his horse and try to escape but guess who comes to stop them.

Kicho, the bastard.

MC pleads with him to move, but he refuses. Masa is getting weaker and more delirious from the poison, so MC has to think fast about what to do. Masa wants to fight Kicho but MC thinks it's dumb for him to fight in his increasingly weakening state.

So, she does possibly the worst thing she can do to Masamune.

She ties his hands to his horse, jumps down, and sends that horse off from the battlefield as he screams after her, having to watch in horror as Kicho comes up behind her and slices her back open. Masa basically gets to watch his loved ones die in front of him all over again. Fun times!

But! MC isn't dead! Matter of fact, she crawls her way to Kicho and gets him to save her life, which, surprisingly, he does! Wild.

MC's in and out of consciousness, sometimes talking to Kicho, sometimes having fever dreams about Masa. Kicho eventually leaves to do his dastardly schemes. The next person that finds her is Kanetsugu, Kenshin's top vassal. He had met with MC and Masa in a previous joint investigation of Kicho. And he stays with MC because leaving a defenseless, injured woman to die is ridiculous. He patches her up and listens as she laments her horrible actions, of putting Masa in the position of reliving his worst trauma and how much she wants to apologize for doing him so, so dirty.

Because Kanetsugu is a good guy, he gives her a proposition. If she's still sick and hurting in the morning, he'd take her to the nearest village with a doctor and she could go about her way afterwards. But, if she was feeling well enough to travel, he'll take her as close as he can to Masa's base camp, to see if he's still alive. And, true to his word, he takes her as close as he can.

Meanwhile, back with Masa, he drinks as much water as he can to nullify the poison. You can hear the defeat in his voice as he says 'it's always poison, isn't it, Kojuro?' (I don't think it's explicitly stated in IkeSen, but Masa never had a good relationship with his family, his mother in particular. She tried to poison him so his younger brother could take the position of clan head, according to wikipedia. It's more explored in SLBP's version of Masa (thus how I knew about it), but we're here for IkeSen Masa, so that discussion will have to happen another time) He does his own lamenting, that finding and keep love was never meant for someone like him, already losing two people he cared about, that he was too weak and powerless to protect them.

But, he soon finds his resolve again. He wants to find MC again, dead or alive, and live his life so she and others after her can smile in the future. Still weakened from the poison, but determined, he decides to face Kenshin again head-on (because he still wants to fight Masa, and if he won't fight or is dead, he's gonna take the territory he left behind, it's still kinda dumb), then he was gonna find Kicho and stop him from continuing to ruin the future his beloved came from.

I'm gonna first talk about the Passionate route as that's the one I completed first and then I’ll talk about his Blissful route.

Masa and Kenshin try to face off once again, but they're interrupted again (poor Kenshin, he doesn't get much to do this route). This time it's Motonari who comes to ruin everything and set things on fire.

Literally, everything is on fire. Not even kidding. Fire’s everywhere, man.

MC breaks away from Kanetsugu's group to see Masa, still weak but alive, as he's fighting off Motonari in the flames. Because MC is dumb and still very much injured herself, she tries to go and help Masa, but again, fighting going on, plus, again, everything's on fire!

Motonari finally realizes that maybe setting things on fire wasn't a good idea so he runs off while Masa, still weak and now bleeding and probably a little singed, tries to get away from the flames with MC supporting him, two dumb, weak, stumbling idiots in love. When help from the Oda arrives (they had been tracking Motonari and Kicho and now all our friends are together again, yay!) they both collapse then and there to the ground, clinging to each other.

MC wakes up again back in Azuchi, being attended by Ieyasu, with Masa nearby, still unconscious. He explains that while he would have preferred to treat them apart, he knew one or the other would try to get up and find the other and decided he didn't want the headache of them reopening wounds by moving too much, so he kept them together in close enough beds. He updates MC about the current situation and leaves the two of them to their rest. Masa wakes and they talk and apologize. Little bit of kissing too but not much because they both still can't move very well, but that's okay, at least they're together again. Yay!

For the Blissful route, meant as a Romantic Ending equivalent, is much lighter in tone and pacing than its other half. MC and Kanetsugu receive word that Masa and Kenshin are going to fight once more, so the two of them make their way to the battlefield as close as they can, in the rain.

As the two dragons are about to face off, both are suddenly struck by lightning.

No, not even kidding. Both Masa and Kenshin were knocked unconscious by a force of nature so they can’t fight to the death.

I laughed for a good five minutes while trying to process that scene.

Kanetsugu and MC part ways as the unconscious commanders are taken off the field. Kanetsugu lends her his horse, saying she’s smart and that she’ll return to him when MC releases her. Kanetsugu himself rides with one of his underlings as MC sets off to reach the Date base camp. When she arrives, her energy finally leaves her and she collapses. Understandable as she’s still injured, just rode at full speed both to witness Maa and Kenshin be struck by lightning, all in the rain, then having to ride back at full speed to reach Masa, collapsing is kind of expected.

When MC wakes up again, she’s lying next to the unconscious Masa, him soon waking up too. Cue sweet kissing times because ‘omg, I thought you were dead!’ reunion time. After their make-up session, Masa starts to open up to MC, about how he feels like a failure for failing to protect her and his territory. MC says that it doesn’t matter if he isn’t strong enough to do those things, she loves him because she loves all of him, not for how strong or cool he is. She’s glad he’s finally letting her in, to see this weak part of himself that he’s always kept hidden from everyone.

A few days pass (Masa’s aggressors that weren’t Kicho and Motonari take care of themselves, so now they’re free to return to Azuchi and help out Nobu and the others) and they meet up with Kenshin and Kanetsugu again. They make a temporary alliance so they can stop Motonari and Kicho once and for all. Kenshin is good when he finds out that MC is having similar symptoms that Sasuke has, and that stopping Kicho and co. will make him better, so that’s his driving force for joining this alliance. On the ride to Azuchi, Masa, now thanks to his opening up to MC, starts to show more of his negative emotions openly, mainly when MC and Kanetsugu talk about how her wound is doing and about the time they spent together in the hut while Kanetsugu cared for her. Masa, like Mitsuhide did back in his route, shows his jealousy and protectiveness by growling at Kanetsugu. Like he is about most things, he’s not impressed. He baits Masa for his lack of strength in protecting his beloved and MC has to calm them both down before the alliance breaks up because of Masa’s jealousy.

The gang meets up in Azuchi with Shingen and Yoshimoto already there. Masa and MC catch everyone up on current events (how many times both of them got injured in some fashion, much to the horror of everyone about MC’s own injuries; about how she’s from the future and that if they don’t do something about Kicho and Motonari, the future that MC and Sasuke come from will cease to exist, that she comes from the future, all that fun stuff.) They come up with a battle plan and take on their enemies, defeat them, and the future is restored. With that final battle, MC finally regains her smile, Masa is stunned into silence to see that smile after so long, cuteness abounds once again.

In conclusion, if I picked a reason why I loved this route so much (outside of Masa himself because I was already loving him before) it's the character growth shown here. Masa learns that it's okay that he's not as powerful and strong as he projects himself to be, that he can still protect his loved ones despite his weaknesses. I love the throwbacks to his Main route and to show that decisions have consequences, like if the scene from the Main route of MC not taking the shot was flipped on its head and she actually did take a shot at someone, and what that kind of thought process brought out of her. Kanetsugu was a sweet bean despite his sharp tongue. Got to see Nobu and Shingen bickering which was delightful (as well as Yukimura having a 'gross, I have to work with *him???*' moment with Mitsuhide. Yoshimoto also shows up to Ieyasu's aid so he can get the Imagawa clan off his back (because that's who was pestering him) and Yasu can get back to aiding the Oda (along with the lines 'I thought you were dead. Are you here so I can finish off the job that Nobunaga didn't?').

So, yeah, that’s my thoughts on Masa’s Act 2. I do have a bias as he’s my numero dos when it comes to favorite ikesen baes, but I think this is hopefully a good example of how good this route was. The writing was bumped up a notch, there was plenty of drama, character growth, I just love it so much.

So, that’s it for this little summary. Hope you guys have fun reading it. Take care of yourselves out there and I hope to see you all again some time!

#bae in review #kind of #not a true one but it's done in the spirit of #ikemen sengoku #masamune date #masamune act 2 spoilers #masamune eternal end spoilers #I say initially that I had blabbed 2100 words to Yuu about Masa's Second Act when it was actually 2800 words #when I wrote the original summary #thus adding on the additional 700 words #like damn krys #kinda missed doing fandom essays and summaries like this #maybe if I get more spoons to do more someday I'll do some more waxing poetic about otome #but for now #here's me gushing about Masamune and how much I love him #💖

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